Blue November warns of the importance of prostate cancer prevention

As for the other health alert dates, Palazzo Piratini – seat of the state executive – lights up with the colors of the Blue November, to alert the male population to the importance of prostate cancer prevention.

According to the Mortality Information System of the Ministry of Health, between 2014 and 2018, 20.17 deaths from prostate cancer were recorded in the state for every 100,000 men.

The National Cancer Institute (Inca) points out that 45-year-old men must undergo preventive examinations to detect the disease. Rio Grande do Sul has around 1.7 million men in this age group.

The Men’s Health Policy Coordinator of the Secretariat of Health (SES), Carlos Antônio da Silva, says that the best medicine is prevention.

“Care and self-care are protective factors,” he advises. He adds that men should seek health services not just in November, but every month of the year.

• Practice physical activity, maintain an adequate body weight, avoid smoking, tobacco products and the consumption of alcoholic beverages;

• Do intimate hygiene and observation of the genital organ;

• Use of condoms;

• Seek periodic medical evaluation and specific medical evaluation in the first perception of suspicious signs and symptoms.

Created in 2003, blue November was referred to as that month because November 17th is World Prostate Cancer Day.

This year, the Ministry of Health recommends that the date also be used to raise awareness of the risks of penile cancer, which accounts for 2.1% of all male cancers in Brazil. It is associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

The Blue November 2020 also alludes to the risks of oral cancer which, according to the ministry, has been more common in men for over 40 years.